This is the moment Ukrainian special ops troops destroy a Russian missile system that had just received new ammo to launch an offensive against them.

The Special Operations Forces (SSO) said they saw the enemy receiving new ammo for their anti-tank missile systems, and managed to strike the first – and only – blow.

The Ukrainian military claimed that they killed the Russian “anti-tank fighters” and the new gear they had just received.

The Command of the SSO of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on 20th May: “In the duel of the ‘birdwatchers’, operators of the SSO of Ukraine won.

“In one section of the frontlines, our soldiers saw the Russians bring ammunition for their anti-tank missile systems. Quickly assessing the situation, SSO operators were the first to attack without delay.

“The missile of the Ukrainian ATGM [Anti-Tank Guided Missile] from the first shot accurately struck the position of enemy anti-tank fighters, destroying them along with the newly brought ammunition.”

Russian troops invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 86th day of the campaign.

From 24th February to 20th May, the total combat losses of Russian troops stand at around 28,700 personnel, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military also claims that Russia has lost 1,263 tanks, 3,090 armoured fighting vehicles, 596 artillery systems, 200 multiple launch rocket systems, 93 anti-aircraft systems, 204 warplanes, 168 helicopters, 2,162 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, 13 vessels, 460 unmanned aerial vehicles, and 43 units of special equipment.

Meanwhile, following the fall of the port city of Mariupol, the Russian authorities plan to tear down the Azovstal metallurgical plant and turn the city into a luxury resort, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

The Kremlin also says that the Ukrainian fighters from the Azovstal plant have been taken to a former prison colony in a Russian-controlled part of Donetsk.

However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine an “absolute failure” and said Russian leaders were afraid to acknowledge “that catastrophic mistakes were made at the highest military and state level”.

Zelenskyy also said that said Ukraine is determined to reclaim control over the southern cities of Kherson, Melitopol, Berdiansk, Enerhodar and Mariupol, now occupied by Russian forces.